


Star Gazing

by Downwiththeficness



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Downwiththeficness/pseuds/Downwiththeficness
Summary: Set in the time Cara spends on Sorgan. Veda is the owner of a local bar who just happens to need a little security now and again, and Cara just happens to step in. Veda takes Cara to a local harvest festival that celebrates the transition between Fall and Winter, the giving and taking of the harvest. As they walk through the woods to give an offering to the gods, Veda gives Cara an opening to take a step forward in another way.
Relationships: Cara Dune/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Star Gazing

Veda had fallen for Cara the second she’d seen her wipe the floor with a man who’d gotten too handsy at the bar. Cara had taken one look at the hand on her thigh and grabbed the back of the man’s head, slamming it into the bar in front of her without so much as blinking. Veda could still feel her chest constrict with excitement when she thought about it.

One could not mistake the power in Cara’s body. Her curves were molded around solid muscle that flexed to suit her needs. All she had to do was walk into a room and everyone in it knew she was not to be fucked with. Head up, shoulders back, alert and confident.

Veda had complemented Cara on checking the creep, and Cara had lifted a dark brow, asking if the bar needed a little extra security. As it turned out, Veda was in need of a little security here and there. Although the planet was mostly peaceful, and group of people with enough alcohol was bound to get a little rowdy now and again.

To her absolute surprise, Cara had agreed and Veda had ended out offering the woman lodging in return for a few nights a week service. Since then, Veda got front row seats to arm wrestling matches, games of skills, and all out fights (though Cara was careful not to break any of Veda’s furniture).

And that was how their relationship had started—with a broken nose and a wet rag cleaning up the mess. Veda wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite chastising her friend (she hoped they were friends) whenever she laid out a customer, Veda always ended out smiling and shaking her head, refilling Cara’s drink.

At present, Cara was winning a fight against a man twice her size, her eyes alight with amusement. Despite the bruise forming on her cheek, Cara was grinning wide. Veda couldn’t help but to lean a hip against the sink behind the bar and fold her arms across her chest, watching as Cara slammed the heel of her palm into the man’s throat. He made a strangled sound that was more and more common in the ring, a combination of pain and disbelief. After so many front row seats to Cara’s various altercations, Veda knew that the woman had already won.

Making quick work of him, Cara pinned the man and claimed the victory, fists to the sky. Veda shook her head and moved to the tap, pouring a pint of Cara’s preferred ale. She was always particularly thirsty after she’d won and Veda lived to serve.

The clink of a credit hitting the bar made Veda turn. Cara was sliding it across to her, fingers giving it a tap. She was still smiling, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Veda reciprocated by setting the ale in front of her, “That was a good fight.”

“That,” Cara scoffed, “Was hardly a fight. But, a win is a win.”

Nodding, Veda leaned on her forearm, eyeing the loser, “Looks like you’ve made an enemy.”

Cara looked over her shoulder, one hand waving the statement away, “He’ll get over it. Or, he’ll challenge me again and I’ll earn a few more credits.”

This was another common motif. Despite having kicked their ass over and over, people kept challenging her. Cara never turned them down.

Veda huffed out a breath, “What do you plan to do with all those credits?”

One strong shoulder lifted and fell in a smooth movement, “Save ‘em for when I need ‘em.”

Practical, efficient, much like the woman, herself.

“A good plan.”

“I like to think so. You need me tonight?”

Veda very nearly sighed. Cara asked that question almost every night. Some nights Veda accepted the offer, some nights she didn’t. Not once had she allowed the flirtatious ‘yeah, but not for work’ pass her lips.

“No,” Veda replied eventually. “The harvest festival will keep most everyone in the woods tonight. I’ll probably close up early and join them.”

Cara cocked her head to the side, “Harvest festival?”

“Pretty much what it sounds like. We had a good harvest this year. There’ll be plenty of food for the winter and we might even be able to trade off world.”

Cara eyed her for a moment, taking and drink, “What’s it like?”

Veda moved to pour a pint for another customer, her attention still on Cara, which was pretty much par for the course at this point. Her attention was nearly always on Cara, if she was in the room, “Its nothing spectacular. Just a big fire, some songs, and a march through the woods to the lake and back.”

“That it?”

Veda shrugged, “Pretty much.”

“Why the march?” she asked, holding her drink aloft as she said it, sipping from the rim afterwards.

Veda flicked hair from her face and picked up a bar towel, wiping up a spilled drink she hadn’t yet noticed, “Some people still believe in the old gods—water gods, you know.”

The planet was soggy almost all year, water seeping up from the ground no matter where you walked. Veda’s first piece of advice to any newcomer was the invest in a good pair of water resistant boots. The alternative was perpetually damp feet and blisters.

“So,” she continued, “The water gods live in the lake, where the water gathers its minerals to nourish the crops. People light the crops on the bon fire, then take the ash to the lake. To return a portion of the minerals to them.”

Cara hummed, turning the cup in her hands, “Do you believe in the old gods?”

Veda shook her head, “I believe in what’s in front of me.”

There was a moment, like there had been many moments before, when something Veda had said made Cara go silent and still. Her attention was not often focused solely on one person, a result of a lifetime scanning for danger. Veda felt her face flush under that scrutiny, and her hands itched to be doing anything other than wringing the towel between them. But, when it happened, Veda could feel her body snapping to attention, an anxious tremor that dug deep into her bones. As per usual, Veda had to break the pressure before she burst from it.

“Still, its nice to remember where we come from.”

Veda had lived on Sorgan her entire life, had grown up with traditions that varied from quaint to downright strange. The harvest festival was her favorite. She liked sitting by the heat of the fire and watching as children brought their family’s offering forward to burn with the offerings from the rest of the community. She particularly liked the long walk through the woods under the starlight.

“Maybe I’ll come to the festival, see what its about.”

Veda smiled, “You should. People might accept you more if you participated.”

Cara was an outsider. And, despite having worked to save the village not long ago, people were suspicious of her. They clocked her as a soldier immediately, and soldiers were not always to be trusted. Add together that she’d beaten every challenger in the fighting ring, and a lot of people started to wonder if she might be a potential threat.

“I don’t much care if people accept me,” Cara said, finishing off the last of her drink and setting the cup back on the bar.

Veda made a small gesture to indicate ‘another?’ and Cara nodded. She poured from the tap into the same cup, sliding it to Cara.

“You might not care, but the winter is hard. Doesn’t matter that we had a good harvest. Trading with the locals is the only way to keep your stores up.”

Cara ran her tongue over her bottom lip, “You gonna let me starve?”

“No,” Veda answered, a little too readily. “But, _I_ have to trade with them. You live here, work here. What you do reflects on the bar and its owner.”

Cara seemed to think on that for a long time, her fingers fiddling with the cup while Veda served other customers. Eventually, she gave Veda a few credits and stepped away, offering no further conversation.  Veda watched her go, her steps taking her down to the basement. 

With her room next to Veda’s, there were times where Veda could hear Cara tossing in the night. She was a little ashamed of how many times she’d pressed her ear to the wall that divided them, listening to Cara having a nightmare. Part of her, a large part, wanted to go and comfort the woman so clearly in pain. But, despite the fact that they were friendly, Veda could not bring herself to step out of her room and knock on Cara’s door.  Her past was locked up tight and Veda respected those boundaries. Over time, maybe Cara would share some of her burden. Until then, Veda could be patient.

The evening came as it usually did, the sun setting low and the sky letting go of its amber g low and falling into midnight blue. Veda could smell the fires starting as she locked and barred the front doors.  After turning off the lights, she headed down to her room to get cleaned up and changed. Her work pants and shirt were dirty and a little sweaty after the day spent tending to the customers.  Though she might not believe in the old gods, she respected tradition enough to be presentable.

Veda disrobed and headed for the fresher, letting the sonic vibrations clear away the grime. Skin clean and hair dry, she pulled on a soft blue dress that she only wore on special occasions. It was a little big for her, made for an older sister Veda had put in the ground long ago. She belted it with soft leather and slipped on her boots. The skirt fell to mid-calf and flared out when she moved.  Veda smoothed it down with her hands.

In the mirror, she braided her hair to one side. She should cut it, but the convenience of being able to pile the weight on the top of her head without too much fuss made the thought of taking off much length unpalatable. Veda gave herself one last look to make sure that she was presentable before turning and heading for the door.

Outside, in the too tight hallway, Veda paused before Cara’s door. She stared at the familiar wood, the room having formerly been extra storage.  The light was on. Cara was there.  Biting her lip, she hesitated, her fist hovering mid air  as she debated . Then, she gathered up her courage and knocked.

Movement sounded, and after a moment the door opened. Cara had changed clothes since Veda had seen her last. She was dressed in a dark long sleeve shirt and fitted trousers, her hair braided back on both sides.

“Time to go?” She asked.

Veda nodded, “They’ve lit the fires.”

Reaching back, Cara turned off the lights and stepped out into Veda’s space.  She resisted the instinct to take a step back, looking up at Cara with a small smile. 

“You look nice,” Cara commented, her eyes following the line of Veda’s dress.

“Thank you,” Veda said, blushing, “You look nice, too.” Then, “Ready?”

Cara paused, eyes sliding down  once more over Veda’s face and body, “Ready.”

They headed out the back door and down the alley between the bar and a boutique shop. Cara followed Veda’s lead as she made her way away from the central lane and towards the far end where the alley opened up to a large, empty field.

A few years back, someone tried to buy the field from the city to make way for a large apartment complex. Veda had seen mock ups of the potential project—a pretty location with water fountains and lots of archways to let the air move through. She’d hated them immediately. This wasn’t what the land was for. The soft green earth squished under her boots, water pooling in her footprints. Gravel walkways eased travel, but there was still mud beneath them.  This was the kind of land that rose up and surrounded whoever trod upon it, and Veda doubted it could be subjugated with concrete.

Ahead, the bon fires were growing, fed with logs seasoned especially for the festival, soaked in woody natural oils that gave off spice and musk. Veda looked back at Cara, whose eyes were reflecting the light of the fires. Her breath caught a little at such a pretty sight, much prettier than any tiled archway or fountain could be. Veda was once again glad they’d scrapped the project.

They chose seats a little ways from the largest of the fires, the heat wafting towards them as the night settled into itself. Though the days were usually warm and humid, the atmosphere was thin enough that the nights were always cool. Veda smoothed her skirt and caught the first of the children with their offerings.

About eight or nine years old, they were wearing traditional costumes, lots of bead work and jagged structural patterns, most of them passed down for several generations. Their little hands were filled with wide bowls of vegetables and flower buds, all soaked in the same seasonal oils as the firewood.

“Each family chooses from their harvest something to burn,” Veda explained gesturing to the little ones. “The children offer it to the fire and the ashes are mixed together for the walk to the lake.”

Cara nodded, her hands resting on her knees. Veda had seen those hands throw a full grown man across a room, her shoulders turning with the motion. The nails were short, the fingers long. The palms were calloused a little at the skin between thumb and forefinger. Too much time holding a weapon.

More offerings were added to the fire, and Veda looked up to the sky, noting that the stars were beginning to come out.

“How come you don’t have one?” Cara asked, motioning towards a little girl stumbling over the hem of her dress.

Veda shrugged, “Guess it was never the right time. I wouldn’t want to do it alone, though. You know, raise a kid.”

Lifting a brow, Cara regarded her inquisitively, “Why is that?”

“I don’t know,” Veda answered as honestly as she could, “Always thought it was a two person job, at least.”

Nodding, Cara settled a little further into her seat, “ There are plenty of men here who could help you.”

She was right. There were plenty of men. Sorgan was a mostly peaceful place, and men didn’t go to war to die so often as other planets. Veda very well could have married early and had a brood by now.

“I never wanted any of them.”

Though she wasn’t looking at Veda, Cara swallowed audibly. Her gaze remained focused on the fire as she said, “Why not?”

Veda drew in a short breath, “I always thought women were more suited for me.”

It was about as forward as Veda had been with Cara in their time together—about as forward as Veda had ever been with anyone who wasn’t causing a scene at her bar. Though no one looked twice at women together in the village, the population was small, and Veda had only had a few short lived relationships. None of them had made her feel as she did, just sitting next to Cara. Her heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest and fall to the soggy ground at her feet as she waited for a response.

Cara gave her a sidelong glance, amused, “Given the men I’ve seen on this planet, I don’t blame you.”

A kind of ragged disappointment flashed through Veda. To conceal it, she looked down at her hands folded in her lap. Perhaps she’d misjudged Cara’s interest. It would not be the first time.

Clearing her throat, Veda shrugged, “Yes, well, it is a backwater planet, after all.”

Eyes rising to the night sky, Cara asked, “You ever think of leaving, going some place with more...people?”

Veda considered it for a long moment, looking upwards, “No, not really. A visit, maybe, but not permanently.” She gestured to the bonfires, now roaring across the field, “I’d miss this too much, I think.”

The smoke was fragrant and soon the field smelled like the harvest that had just been completed, woody, homey.  Veda inhaled it, feeling as she did during every harvest festival, at home.

“This is nice,” Cara said.

“It is.”

They sat in silence while some of the locals began mixing the ashes together, using them to douse the fires. More fragrant smoke poured out of them, billowing up to the sky. Veda smoothed her skirt and stood, motioning for Cara to follow. She made her way to the nearest fire, taking a small containe r of the ashes.

“Now, we walk the path through the woods to the lake and give the ashes to the water god,” she explained lowly.

“Because they gave you the harvest.”

“Because they gave us the harvest.”

Cara eyed the container skeptically, but made no scathing remark. Veda had explained a lot of what the locals did to Cara, usually while they were standing on opposite sides of the bar. She was gratified that Cara never once belittled them for their little superstitions, though she was often confused by them. Veda wondered what superstitions of her own Cara had, though she never really got the courage to ask.

The path was lit on either side by glow ing lights, a cool blue that bounced off the gravel path and the surrounding trees.  They walked at a leisurely pace. The quiet of the night surrounded them, the air thin, but filled with reverence. Even the wildlife seemed to have settled down to allow them to pass through with deference.

“What happens when we get to the lake?” Cara asked lowly, her voice just above a whisper.

Veda leaned towards her, her voice similarly pitched, “We cross to the center of the east bridge and pour the ashes in, then we cross back over the west bridge.”

Cara gave a little laugh,  “That’s oddly specific.”

Nodding  in agreement , Veda made a kind of bouncing gesture from left to right with her hand, “The water flows from east to west. We offer the ashes in one place and in the next place, we cross over water that is filled with the richness of the earth.”

The words came from somewhere in her memory, a reminder of all the things her parents had said to her during similar festivals. She tried not to feel sad that she wouldn’t hear those stories any more, except when she told an outsider.

Veda shifted the container from one hand to the other, and tripped a little on the gravel. Instinct had her reaching out, and she was suddenly holding hands with the other woman. Cara had grabbed her hand and forearm in both of hers, holding Veda steady as she regained her footing.

“Sorry,” Veda offered with a little embarrassed laugh. Her face was hot with mortification, a blush that she was sure had spread all the way down to her toes. She righted herself and took another step, her ankle rolling on a large rock. Stumbling, she almost dropped the ashes.

“Okay,” Cara said with finality, “I’m going to take those.”

She plucked the ashes from Veda’s hand and waited a beat for Veda to gain her balance before starting off down the path again. Veda was too busy mentally chastising herself for being so damn clumsy that it took her about thirty feet or so to notice that Cara had not let go of her hand.

Walking about half a step in front of her, Cara caught the direction of the path and followed it. She looked back at Veda, smiling.

“Come on, slow poke. We got ashes to spread.”

V eda followed along, trying not to smile too wide at the feeling of Cara’s hand in hers. Her palm was warm as it pressed against her, the grip firm. She liked the way their hands swung a little as they walked, a leisurely pendulum that marked the upbeat of their footsteps.

When they reached the lake, there was a short line waiting for the bridge. It moved at a moderate pace, each family given a little time to do whatever it was that they needed to do as they poured the ash into the water. Cara’s hand remained in Veda’s, their fingers threaded together as they walked across the wooden planks to the middle of the bridge. Only when she handed Veda the little container of their offering did Cara release her.

Holding it aloft, Veda let the moment extend for a few second s before she dumped the contents into the water. There was a soft ‘whissh’, and then nothing. Leaning over the railing, Veda could see the faint outline of the ashes make an ever narrowing circle until they’d all dissolved into nothingness. She kept looking, not sure what she was looking for. 

“I feel like I should make a wish,” Cara said quietly.

Veda glanced at her, “You can, if you want.”

Gaze holding, Cara reached out and grasped Veda’s hand again—not pulling, just holding. Veda smiled and stepped towards her.

“We should go, others are waiting.”

The wooden planks creaked beneath their combined steps, replaced by the soft sound of the ground giving just slightly under their boots. The east and west bridge were  not far apart, the path lit brightly despite the dark of the night.

“You do this every year?”

Veda nodded, “I don’t know why, but it feels right to honor the beliefs of my people, despite not believing in them, myself.”

Cara’s grip shifted, and she wrapped her arm around Veda’s hips, the weight of it bringing them closer together, “Sometimes, that’s how we make things right.”

Veda hummed a little, daring to return Cara’s embrace, their sides pressing comfortably together as they walked.

“I was thinking of starting a little class, for the kids,” Cara said when they took a turn around a large boulder.

Veda looked up at her, “What kind of class?”

The shoulder not leaning into Veda’s side lifted, “Self defense, maybe a little strategy. There won’t always be an ex-soldier around to teach those things last minute.”

Tensing, Veda edged, “You plan on leaving?”

Cara shook her head, “No, but I can’t predict the future, and I don’t like the idea of your people being left without some skills.”

Forcing herself to relax,  Veda took the short step up to the west bridge, “Why work with the kids?”

“Because,” Cara explained, “Kids take to it easier, and they’ll teach each other as much as I’ll teach them. Adults can have too many agendas to train effectively without an established hierarchy.”

“Ah,” Veda said, not really understanding it, but knowing that Cara knew what she was talking about. She’d seen the depth of her skills first hand, had watched from the front door of the bar while she trained men to wield sticks as effective weapons.

About mid way over the bridge, Veda slowed and looked up. She pointed to a set of stars that were rising over the horizon.  A set of three surrounding one in the center, each one spaced about equidistant apart in the sky. 

“When I was a kid, my dad used to smoke. Mom never let him do it in the house, so he’d sit on the porch. Sometimes, I’d sit out with him. He pointed out that constellation all the time, telling me that it represented—I forget the name—a god of change. It was that god that gave us seasons, that separated night day, man and woman, the old and the young.”

Cara looked out at it silently for a while before looking down at Veda, “If that’s the case, then I’m glad he did.”

Rolling her eyes, Veda urged Cara with her as she headed for the end of the bridge, “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. I like to look at it, though. It always rises first  right when winter starts. That’s how I know the cold i s  coming.”

They entered the woods again, the path winding back towards town. Veda could see a few people up ahead, walking as leisure ly as she and Cara were. 

“I never much liked the cold,” Veda continued. “Winters here are kind of brutal.”

Cara  slowed to a complete stop, turning towards Veda, both hands on Veda’s hips. She tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of Veda’s braid behind her ear, fingers tracing her jaw.  The moment hung suspended in mid air, a deep inhale that spread out between them.

“Well then,” she said with a kind of soft finality, “I guess its good I’m here to keep you warm.”

The kiss was soft and sweet, not much more than the meeting of two pairs of lips.  Veda leaned into Cara, her hands cupping Cara’s face. She could feel Cara smile into the kiss a bit, giving her another quick peck before pulling away. Veda stared up at the woman who had entered her life in a whirlwind, saving people that she cared about, who stuck around afterwards to help clean up the mess. And now, she was offering to stay a little longer. It was almost too much to hope for.  Veda warned her little heart to take care.

“I think I’d like that very much.”


End file.
